Watson: Two-thirds rule going away

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate’s long-standing two-thirds rule that has blocked controversial bills from coming to a vote is likely history when the Legislature convenes in a week, the Upper Chamber’s top Democrat predicted today.

Long criticized by Republicans who said the rule gave Democrats a way to prevent conservative GOP bills from being adopted, the policy requires at least 21 senators to agree to debate a bill before it can be placed on the Senate calendar to be debated and voted upon. Both Republicans and Democrats have used the rule as a way to block legislation they didn’t like, to prevent divisive floor debates in public that could force them to cast a vote that could hurt them politically.

“A sufficient number of Republicans want to change it just enough to marginalize the Democrats,” Watson wrote. ” I think that’s a bad, bad idea but can’t stop it. In the past, it has taken 21 votes to get a bill to the floor. It appears that soon it will only take 19 votes to get a bill to the floor. And there will be 20 Republicans in the Senate. Pretty simple math. And arguably a pretty cynical calculation.

He added: “In truth, it’s been the relatively rare bill where the split was purely partisan. Mostly, senators have negotiated with their colleagues of both parties to build consensus and get their bills over the two-thirds threshold. The end result has been better legislation and public policy.

No immediate word from the Republican leadership in the Senate. But in the past, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who is the lieutenant governor-elect and will take over as presiding officer of the Senate on Jan. 20, has advocated doing away with the rule.